this city confuses the hell out of me

[gomason]

Originally Posted by RLCMA

I live here and I use quadrants all the time so this is false. Also, I used to live in ATL and we didn't use quadrants, we used neighborhoods (Midtown, Buckhead, etc.) so you're confused in that regard.

I am not confused in that regard. Perhaps, you just weren't aware that Atlanta has quadrants as well. I don't think they're used as commonly as up here.

Five main streets converge downtown in an area known as Five Points; these streets roughly divide the city into geographic quadrants (northeast, northwest, southeast, and southwest).

http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/T...portation.html

[BajanYankee]

Originally Posted by gomason

I am not confused in that regard. Perhaps, you just weren't aware that Atlanta has quadrants as well. I don't think they're used as commonly as up here.

Quadrants are definitely more commonly used in DC than they are in Atlanta. The quadrants in Atlanta have little practical consequence. That's not true in DC. If the UPS driver takes your package to 1223 Varnum Street NE instead of 1223 Varnum Street NW, you've got problems. And that happens quite frequently in DC where packages and mail get delivered to the wrong house because the address for two homes is the same (minus the quadrant).

Another thing about Atlanta is that the typical driver is going to spend significantly more time on the expressway. Most of the major places of interest--Georgia Tech, Phipps, Lenox, Turner Field, the Varsity, Atlantic Station, Edgewood, the airport, etc.--are directly off the highway. As long as you get the highway system down, you can get to 80-85% of the places you'll ever need to visit. In DC, the highway simply doesn't deposit you at many of your destinations, so a more intimate knowledge of the street layout is generally required.

[r small]

Wasn't there a case recently where an ambulance driver went to an address but ended up in the wrong quadrant, causing a long delay in getting the person to the hospital. Can't remember the details. In any event, you have to understand the quadrants to navigate DC. And that shouldn't be any sweat. It ain't rocket science. Spend a little time with the street map.

[slowlane3]

Originally Posted by r small

DC is a piece of cake once you understsand the system. Numbered streets run north and south. Lettered streets run east and west. When the lettered streets run out (I believe W St. is the last) then begin the two syllable named streets, then the three syllable named streets. The diagonal streets and avenues can be disorienting though. And to this day I tend to avoid the traffic circles if possible. Especially Dupont, Washington, and Thomas.

ARLINGTON uses the very same system of one-syllable, then two-syllable, and finally three-syllable street names, each group spanning the entire alphabet (well, from A to V, anyway) from Rosslyn all the way to East Falls Church. Except that their streets are often broken up and disconnected, and can be confusing/frustrating some.

[r small]

Like DC Arlington also has numbered streets. Arlington Blvd. divides Arlington into North and South Arlington. So for example: N. 7th St. is seven blocks north of Arlington Blvd. and S. 7th St. is seven blocks south. (I used to live on S. 7th St. by the way.) Arlington Blvd. divides the numbered streets in Arlington like North and South Capitol Streets do in the District. But Arlington doesn't have lettered streets like in DC. In Arlington the cross streets are named streets and run in alphabetical order like the DC named streets. It's a simple system but Arlington can be tougher to navigate than DC due to streets coming to a dead end and continuing somewhere else further along. Some streets wind and curve too which can be disorienting. And then there are the Glebe Roads: North, South, East and West...